Doing our part

Posted on Friday, April 19, 2013 at 4:32 pm

There’s just something about springtime that inspires people to start fresh. With warmer weather and pleasant breezes, it’s the perfect time to clean up the house, spruce up the yard, organize the shed and pick up along roadways.

This weekend offers area residents an opportunity to rid your house, garage, barns and sheds of all those hazardous wastes that have been piling up all year.

Louisa County’s Household Hazardous Waste Day will be held from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Louisa County Landfill, located on Moorefield Road, Mineral.

Gather up all those hazardous wastes like household poisons, pesticides, fertilizers, gasoline, antifreeze, dry cell batteries, paints—both latex and oil based—kerosene and solvents and take them over the landfill.

Landfill staff will also be happy take your old computers, monitors, televisions, printers, fluorescent bulbs and stereo equipment.

For a complete list of all acceptable electronic waste, visit the website at http://www.louisacounty.com/LCdepts/generalservices.htm. You can also call (540) 967-3462

This is also a good time to pitch in and help clean up the county’s roadways. So, while the weather is still bearable, we can all do our part to help clean up along the roadways.

It would be nice if we didn’t have to, but it seems that some motorists are inconsiderate and don’t care that they are contributing to the problems in our county and around the state.

We can probably all agree that litter not only looks bad to residents, but it doesn’t leave a good impression on those just passing through.

Litter is a breeding ground for mosquitoes, rodents and other undesirable pests, and wildlife can be injured by some of our castoffs, not to mention that it can eventually find it’s way into our creeks, streams and rivers after a heavy rain.

The Virginia Department of Transportation’s Adopt-A-Highway program has designated this Saturday and Sunday as the statewide spring pick up days. If everybody gets involved, our roadways can look beautiful again in quick measure.

Volunteers can make a one-time commitment by pitching in and helping other groups, individually picking up in front of your own property or forming your own group and adopting a local highway.

Groups that adopt a highway have to agree to pick up litter at least four times a year over a two mile stretch of road for three years. VDOT provides trash bags, vests, important safety information, and highway signs that recognize your group.

In the meantime, parents can teach children the importance of keeping our environment clean and fostering a sense of ownership over public places.

Let them know that it’s not okay to litter and to expect others to clean it up. Until the message is clear to everyone, we will continue to have to pick up others messes.

For more information about how to adopt a highway, call VDOT at (800) 367-7623. If you notice an increase in litter on a particular road, you may report it by calling (800) 774-3382.

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